In systems that provide video programs such as subscriber television networks, the internet or digital video players, a device capable of providing video services or video playback includes hardware and software necessary to input and process a digital video signal to provide digital video playback to the end user with various levels of usability and/or functionality. The device includes the ability to receive or input the digital video signal in a compressed format, wherein such compression may be in accordance with a video coding specification, decompress the received or input digital video signal, and output the decompressed video signal. A digital video signal in compressed form is referred to herein as a bitstream that contains successive coded video sequences.
Digitally encoded video streams can be received by devices such as set-top boxes and televisions over a transmission channel of some type. During the output of the digitally encoded video stream a determination may be needed as to whether each of the plural sub-layers in a coded video sequence (CVS) has a respectively corresponding set of sub-layer parameters, or a common set of sub-layer parameters is applicable to the plural sub-layers.